


An Ifrit Among Aicaya

by Storytravelled



Series: Shadows and Misfortune [1]
Category: A Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snicket, Shadow Magic - Joshua Khan
Genre: Bomby’s here!!!! Forbidden magic!!!, F/F, I killed widdershit, I promise the reasons for magic being forbidden will be explained in part 3 of the main fic, This is my first romance oneshot have fun, also Fi and Fri and Fernald are siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-21
Updated: 2019-11-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:08:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21515803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Storytravelled/pseuds/Storytravelled
Summary: The princess of the seas honestly expected to hate the fire princess. They were of polar opposite elements, after all, and she was a bit busy with the pressure to get married and everything. Not to mention the imminent possibility of war- everything is a bit wild right then, but the ambassador from House Djinn was none other than the princess herself! But she’s nothing like anyone had really expected.
Relationships: Fiona Widdershins/Isadora Quagmire, Friday Caliban & Fiona Widdershins & Fernald Widdershins, Isadora Quagmire & Friday Caliban
Series: Shadows and Misfortune [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1550779
Comments: 5
Kudos: 5





	An Ifrit Among Aicaya

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first romance oneshot, and I hope you like it! I freaked myself out researching djinn and I’m kind still scared. Anyway, enjoy some fiodora fluff before the storm that’ll be the main story.

“Fi!”  
Fiona looked up. She’d been experimenting on an extremely volatile fungal DNA, and she couldn’t afford to be distracted right then. But her favorite little princess was swimming towards her, almost ready to burst.  
Fiona Kassius Miranda Coral was the first daughter of House Coral. She was a mermaid and a princess but loved studying the various mushrooms and fungi that grew in her kingdom. And she loved her family more than anything.  
She had a brother and a sister. King Fernald Usman Thursday Coral and Friday Nakita Coral were her whole world.  
Her mother, Miranda, died soon after she’d married their stepfather. Her father had died long before, and her stepfather not long after her mother.  
He wasn’t mourned.  
Now Fernald was king, and she was expected to be married soon. Suitors had come and been sent off, as neither sister approved of any of them.  
She quickly stabilized the experiment and caught her little sister in her arms. “What is it, Fri?”  
“I found something! C’mon!” Friday began to drag her off.  
“Okay, okay! I’m coming!” Fiona giggled, following the girl.  
They reached the younger sister’s grotto, Friday going up higher and higher to the small opening of a window in the roof. She lifted something to the light- a little black statue that Fiona recognized had been given to them by a noble as a gift. It made some sort of sound, and suddenly the grotto went dark.  
“Friday!” Fiona cried, grabbing her sister protectively. “What is that?”  
“Look,” Friday whispered in response, eyes widened in awe. A very large reptilian creature seemed to circle the place, and Fiona gently let go of the girl and swam towards it. When she exited the grotto she approached it, and it looked into her eyes, as though judging her soul. She stared back, with all the serenity she could muster to show it that she did not mean to challenge it. And then it let her pet it. And the mycologist heard it speak.  
“Princess Fiona, you may choose a name for which to seek me.”  
The voice hummed through her mind, a force of magic moreso than speech. And it told her everything she needed to know about the wonder before her.  
She thought for a moment.  
“I wish to name you Cordellia.”  
“Very well, Princess.” Cordellia’s voice resounded in her mind once more.  
And then she realized what she was talking to.  
The Bombinating Beast to her people, the Great Unknown to everyone else, was a legendary being who ensured the safety of her people for centuries. None had seen her for years, but she was still revered as a hero.  
“Princess.” Cordellia’s voice jerked her out of her shock. “You are the eldest daughter of House Coral. Call upon me, and I shall come.”  
“What? But- but women are forbidden from magic-”  
And with that, the beast was gone.  
Fiona never forgot this fateful day, and she and Friday grew closer to the beast as the months wore on. And six months later, her life changed.  
“The Shadows and Solars are joining by marriage alliance.” Fernald said urgently. The two sat at the table, Friday not with them. “They have a Djinn hostage.”  
“They’re trying to take over all houses now, aren’t they?” Fiona responded, irritated.  
“Yeah.” He responded worriedly. “They’ll attack the Sultanate next, and soon enough we’ll be under attack. We need allies.”  
“Allies? You want to make an alliance.”  
“Yes. Preferably with the Sultanate, as they’ll be fought first.”  
“I know what you’re thinking,” she scowled. “And I don’t like it.”  
He sighed. “I know you don’t, but it’s for the sake of your people. You know tradition states that I can only marry of my kind. And maybe the suitor won’t have to be a man. You’ve turned away just about every one anyway.”  
“What, we don’t have defenses? Are we powerless against the Solars? Is that what you’re saying?” She cried angrily.  
“Unless we have the Bombinating Beast on our side, then yes!” He argued.  
She sighed. He was right. She knew how powerful the Solars were. Even Cordellia’s magic ran thin now, and they didn’t have the firepower everyone else had.  
And she couldn’t help but wonder if a non-male suitor would be better.  
“Who do you propose I marry, brother?”  
He looked her dead in the eye. “The princess of the Sultanate is coming on an ambassadorial mission tomorrow, to discuss possible terms. Ask her, if you want.”  
“The princess? Not a representative?”  
“Yes, the princess. She insisted she come in person, and was especially eager to meet you.”  
“Was she?” Fiona’s voice remained unchanged. “I wonder how that’ll go down.”  
“Fiona please-”  
“Please what? Give her a chance? She’s a Sirena Chilota among Aicaya. She won’t last a moment.” And with that, the girl left. She headed towards the grotto, hoping Friday was there. Upon finding her sister, she called Cordellia to explain the situation. Once she did, an uneasy silence hung in the air.  
“A princess?” Friday was the first to speak. “Will we speak on land?”  
“Probably.” Fiona answered.  
“I shall join you. They must see what we are capable of.” Cordellia’s voice spoke into both’s minds now, as much as Fiona didn’t want Friday to know.  
“You won’t… not be subtle, right?” She asked nervously.  
“Of course not, Princess.”  
Friday turned back to her sister. “Grotto sleepover? If you might court this girl, we’ve gotta get you ready!”  
“I told you, Fri. I’m not going to court this girl!”  
“You don’t know that yet.”  
“Fri!”  
They went on like this for some time, but eventually, she agreed to the sleepover. Cordellia was to come too, provided that she’d let them weave waterlily crowns for her.  
They stayed up late into the night, talking and laughing and planning and weaving waterlilies all the while. In the morning, Fiona elaborately braided her sister’s hair and did a simple fishtail braid for her own. Friday had a collection of jasmine flowers from the surface that she put into her sister’s braid after a period of her relentless begging to be allowed to. They dressed up Cordellia, and let her take them home. Friday’s gown was of cobalt chiffon, billowing behind her as she swam. Fiona’s was ocean-blue silk with cream accents and fell elegantly to her tail. She added a pair of crystal earrings and a light iolite necklace to tie it together.  
She and her family met the young princess on a small ship in the middle of the harbor. She wore fiery red lace and amber jewelry, and her dark eyes sparkled with an inner flame that was a force to be feared.  
Fiona’s face heated at the mere sight.  
The girl was so young! She seemed to disregard anyone who could ever say that she should be seen and not heard. But no one could say it to such a powerful-standing young woman. She was confident and fearless and dauntless and the mycologist was in awe.  
“Welcome to our kingdom, Your Majesty. We are honored to host you here.” Fernald was the first to break the silence, his cordial tone quickly snapping his sister out of her thoughts.  
“It is an honor to be here.” The princess responded.  
“I am King Fernald Usman Thursday Coral, and these are my sisters Fiona Kassius Miranda and Friday Nakita.” He introduced, gesturing to the girls as he did. Friday gave a tiny wave, and Fiona a small smile.  
“I am Princess Isadora Avi Ameera Djinn.” She responded, her eyes meeting Fi’s own with a surprising warmth.  
“Princess Isadora, you’ve come to negotiate an alliance?” Fiona asked, feeling the blood rush to her face. “On your own?”  
“Well, of course! My family is very busy, what with my younger brother a hostage and everything.”  
“Of course, Your Majesty.”  
“What’s fire magic like?” Friday piped up. She’d often wondered this in the darkest hours of the night, when she lay awake and unsure. Neither of her siblings stopped her, her eagerness on the subject apparent.  
Isadora seemed shocked for a moment. How did she know?  
“What do you mean?”  
“Well, you’re a Djinnic princess. Of course, your brothers and father have done it! What’s it like?”  
Isadora let out a sigh of relief. Women practicing magic meant burning at the stake. “It’s like immense, dry heat, except it’s on top of someone’s fingertip. And it’s so entrancing and you so want to touch it, but you’ll burn if you do.”  
“That sounds so cool!” Friday squealed, the words magic in themselves to her. She glanced at her sister, whose stare was hard against hers. She knew exactly what the young girl was thinking. Friday looked very annoyed at her sister by this point and turned back to Isadora. “Maybe next time you visit, you can bring someone along to show us!”  
“Perhaps.” The girl smiled softly.  
“Your Majesty, if I may show you to your rooms?” Fiona asked. “No doubt you’ve traveled very far.”  
“Of course,” Isadora answered, picking up her satchel, her handmaiden holding the rest of her luggage behind her. Fi turned to her brother, who raised his hand. A bubble of sorts surrounded the girl and her handmaiden, carefully lowering her into the water. In this way, she could still breathe and remain dry.  
Fiona took her hand and began to swim downward, towards the palace. Isadora blushed a little at the sudden contact, but no one noticed as she followed the mermaid down.  
The palace was thirteen glittering pearl towers and a great many glimmering rooms of celestite in between.  
Fiona led the fire princess to the seafloor, where a bubble not unlike the one surrounding the visitor stood as a barrier between them and the courtyard. When Fiona swam through the wall, she landed on the amazonite courtyard in pointed silk slippers, the same blue as her dress. The bubble around Isadora and her handmaiden popped, gently dropping them onto the courtyard. Wordlessly, Fiona took her hand and led her through the labyrinth of corridors and stopped at the finest guest rooms they had to offer- next to her own. Not that she was in her room a lot anyway.  
“This is your room.” She said quietly.  
“Thank you.” Isadora curtseyed, still gazing in awe at the wonderful sight surrounding her that was the palace. Fiona smiled at the wonders the fire princess had never seen, and left her to it. After she brought the handmaiden to the slightly less elaborate servants’ quarters she decided to go to her room, nearly running over her sister. Seeing her reddened cheeks, Friday beamed. “You are going to court her! I knew it!”  
“Friday!”  
“You’re not denying it!” She proclaimed, bouncing up on her heels in excitement.  
“Well, now I am. I. Am. Not. In. Love. With. Her.” Fiona addressed her sister with gritted teeth.  
“Then why are you blushing?”  
She feigned touching her cheek in curiosity. “I’m blushing?”  
“Yup.”  
“Well, I don’t know why.” She tickled her sister a little to distract her and then proceeded to take a long and complex route back to her lab. She loved her sister. Friday was her whole world, but it was solitude she needed right then. She had work to do.  
Grabbing a volatile strain of a worryingly medusoid mycelium, she set to work. A mask covered her nose and mouth, and her underwater laboratory had been completely equipped and prepared beforehand for safe research. She tried to perform the tests she needed to do correctly, but her thoughts kept slipping back to Isadora. The efreet among sirens. She seemed incredibly strong-willed, but she had grown incredibly jumpy when Friday had asked her about magic. Pyrophobia? No, she’s a princess of fire. Fiona tried to reason with herself. There had to be a logical explanation. Women were burned at the stake for practicing magic, which is why she’d had to learn in secret. Eventually, she was forced to teach Friday to control it so her own inherent magic wouldn’t be shown. Isadora couldn’t be practicing magic. She’d be burned to a crisp within seconds! And as much as Fiona tried to convince herself otherwise, she didn’t want that to happen. That fire princess was strange and mysterious, but she’d never tell. Fiona knew this. That’s why she’d done her research.  
She also knew that she was head over heels in love with the young woman that currently resided next door to her.  
With a sigh, she stabilized the mycelium and put it in a safe storage unit. She’d never get these tests done with so much on her mind. So she decided to try and get some reading in. Love was a very strange territory, and she wanted to get to know this girl first. She needed to focus on something else, for now. Maybe when she felt a little bit less foggy.  
\--  
As negotiations for the treaty wore on, Friday managed to pull strings so that her new OTP would have many more bonding moments than they’d expected. By the end of Isadora’s visit, the two were best friends.  
\--  
“Fiona?”  
The mycologist nearly jumped out of her skin, seeing Isadora standing in the doorway she’d foolishly left open. She’d been preparing a gift for the princess as she was leaving the next day. A gift, and a confession.  
“Yes?”  
Noticing this, the poet looked guilty. “Sorry- did I interrupt something?”  
Fiona smiled. “No, it’s fine. Come in! And, just call me Fiona. Titles don’t really have much power in here.” And that she did, a small notebook in such a dark shade of maroon it looked almost black in hand. “Can you…” the poet began. She wasn’t entirely sure how to phrase this. Taking a deep breath, she began again. “Would you read through this for me? I feel like it’s falling flat somewhere and I can’t figure out…er… where it goes wrong.” She held out the commonplace book, and it took Fiona a moment to take it. As close as they were, she was still flattered that it had been brought to her. “Of-of course!”  
Their hands touched as she took the book, and both girls blushed slightly at the contact. “Can I read it aloud?” Fiona asked, and Isa nodded. She opened to the marked page, noting the princess’s graceful handwriting.  
“Sapphires and rubies  
Sparkling for the world to see  
Upon a finger placed with care  
A happy feeling fills the air.  
Encased in a band of white gold  
Engraved with a secret likely to be told.  
From the giver to the receiver these words resound  
Filling their hearts from all around.  
And never doubt that these words are true,  
‘Fiona Kassius Miranda Coral, I love you’”  
At the last sentence, she gasped and looked up at Isadora. “You… what?” She breathed, bewildered.  
“I- I’m in love with you, enrapturing siren.” Isadora responded, trying at a pet name.  
“That was such a smooth plan, I have to say. Definitely smarter than mine.” Fiona giggled, pulling a necklace from behind her back, the pendant a bouquet of rare coral and mycelium.  
Isadora smiled, too, letting her companion put it on her. She flushed as Fiona’s hands grazed the back of her neck.  
And then the mycologist kissed her.  
It was soft and sweet and filled with something comforting and warm and filled them both with light. “I love you too, resilient ifrit.”

**Author's Note:**

> Just a quick FYI: Sirena Chilota is a type of a mermaid that lives in tropical, warm climates that are very sunny. Compared to the Aicaya, they are the beach while the latter is the water. An Ifrit is a djinn associated with the element of fire, and a Marid is that which is associated with the element of water though djinn are beings of smokeless fire.


End file.
